A bear joined two hunters in a Mississippi deer stand. They had just eaten honeybuns.

You never know what you'll see while deer hunting, but this unexpected encounter may be a first in Mississippi.

Cleveland resident Jordan Coopwood and friend Andrew Smith, of Merigold, were in a ladder stand that overlooked a food plot. The action, however, was behind them.

"We were on the edge of a food plot in some thick woods," Coopwood said. "They were in the thick woods behind us.

"It was two bucks. They ran off suddenly and I thought that was odd."

With the bucks gone, the hunters focused their attention on the food plot when something else caught their attention.

"A black dot emerged from some cane," Coopwood said. "I was hoping it was hogs so Andrew could shoot. Then I saw it was two bears."

Coopwood has seen bears on the property before and captured images of cubs on game cameras. The club is located within the Mississippi River batture where bear populations are the densest in the state. But what he and Smith witnessed was something few others can claim.

"They were playing like puppies," Coopwood said. "They were younger bears just playing in the field.

"They definitely weren't cubs, but they weren't grown. It was like something on National Geographic. So, after watching them for about 20 minutes, one walked past us. The second one, he was walking the same way toward us. He was probably 30 yards out from us and he b-lined it to us."

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The bear came straight to the ladder stand and began to climb without hesitation. 

"It was like he rehearsed it," Coopwood said. "It was like those Russian bears in a circus. He just climbed up it like a human."

The hunters didn't think to record video until the bear began climbing and Coopwood didn't think to react until it was almost in the stand with them.

"I was kind of in awe," Coopwood said. "It happened so fast.

"He got two feet from my foot. I didn't think to yell at him until he was in my lap."

The bear seemed to be startled and climbed down the stand without incident. Coopwood said he and Smith weren't scared.

"We were laughing after it happened," Coopwood said. "It just took us by surprise. I knew it was a young bear and he was just curious."

Coopwood also thinks he knows what made the bear curious.

"My friend was eating a honeybun right before we saw the bears," Coopwood said. "We were actually both eating a honeybun."

The number of bears in Mississippi has grown significantly in the last 20 years. 

"It's increasing," said Richard Rummel, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Black Bear Program coordinator. "There's no question, but we don't have hard numbers.

"A few years ago we said 150 to 200. Now, I think we can safely say 200, maybe more."

More bears also means more conflicts with humans. Rummel said most complaints about bears revolve around food sources.

"Mainly it's deer feeders," Rummel said. "You have a 55-gallon drum of corn and bears are there. They're going to find it. We get reports of them getting into garbage, too."

Other conflicts can be dangerous for both humans and bears. In the last three years, four bears have been struck by cars.

In 2017, a 468-pound bear was killed in a collision in Wilkinson County.

"That's pretty big," Rummel said.

Although the loss of such an animal may be a disappointment for some, there is a silver lining. The agency had the bear mounted and he was recently put on display in the MDWFP Jackson office.

"He is now in our main office in the fountain area," Rummel said. "If you come in the main lobby, you kind of look down there in the garden area. It's pretty cool."

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Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com. Follow Clarion Ledger Outdoors on Facebook and @BrianBroom on Twitter.